New Releases for February 23, 2018

Released last November on vinyl – now available on CD. To mark the 10-year anniversary of Airbourne’s hard rockin’ debut, the Aussie lads release a 15-track collection of B-sides.

Pat Ament – Time Moved On CD (Grapefruit)

Pat Ament is best known to record collectors for his 1971 debut Songs (reissued this week on vinyl). This CD (which also comes free in the LP reissue of Songs) collects the best of his musical output since, all chosen by Ament himself.The beauty of his songwriting remains clear-eyed throughout Time Moved On, a worthy retrospective highlighting the breadth of his artistry.

Amyl and The Sniffers is a punk band possessed by the spirit of ‘70s Australian rock. Amy Taylor (vocals), Bryce Wilson (drums), Dec Martens (guitar) and Gus Romer (bass) are former housemates who formed the band, wrote a handful of tunes and released their debut EP, Giddy Up, all in a span of 12 hours. Taking their cues from a diverse bunch of legends including AC/DC, Cosmic Psychos, Dolly Parton and Die Antwoord, they set out to have as much fun as possible.

For a decade or so Courtney Marie Andrews was a session and backup singer and guitarist for nearly 40 artists – from Jimmy Eat World to Damien Jurado – but she never stopped writing her own material. Picking up admirers like Ryan Adams (who called her “a phenomenal songwriter”) along the way, she quietly earned a reputation as a songwriter’s songwriter. Her fourth solo effort, 2010’s beautifully crafted No One’s Slate Is Clean, bridges country, pop, alternative folk and even prog-rock, all anchored with her signature majestic melodies and raw honesty. [Vinyl edition due March 9.]

Apostle Of Solitude – From Gold To Ash CD/LP (Cruz Del Sur)

Since their start in 2004, Indianapolis’ Apostle Of Solitude matches the heaviness of traditional doom metal with the darker side of NWOBHM (Angelwitch above all).

Armored Dawn – Barbarians In Black CD/LP (AFM)

New album from the Brazilian heavy/power metal band. [Limited edition white colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Tony Banks – 5 CD (BMG)

A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee as a member of Genesis (2010), 5 is Tony Banks’ tenth album outside of the band and his third orchestral album following the releases of Seven: A Suite for Orchestra (2004) and Six Pieces for Orchestra (2012). 5 is a collection of five compositions written by Banks and produced by long-time collaborator Nick Davis. Nick Ingman, renowned orchestrator and conductor, agreed to be involved in the project immediately after hearing the demos played to him personally by Banks. Ingman has worked with a plethora of artists and musicians from David Bowie and Oasis to the London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The recording was built up over various sessions, the first in London’s Angel Studios where solos and percussion were recorded before a transfer to Prague for a week where concentrated sets of three sessions a day with the orchestra and choir. Recording section by section is a more rock/pop method and seen as unorthodox for an orchestral album, but this method allowed Banks, who also played all of the piano parts, to use his vast musical experience and give himself greater creative control. [Vinyl edition due March 9.]

Bhleg – Solarmegin CD (Nordvis)

Solarmegin is a diverse piece of art with and definitely not a metal only release. There’s a strong presence of traditional Scandinavian folk.

Big Smo – Special Reserve CD (Edge Music Nashville)

New release from rapper Big Smo aka Boss of the Stix.

Blackwülf – Sinister Sides CD/LP (Ripple Music)

“Heavy on the heavy, doomy on the riffing, this vintage metal band from Oakland, CA has hit the nail on the proverbial head” (Heavy Planet). “Melodic but hard-riffin’ doom from California. Bang your head to this cool, crunching metal and savor the hints of ‘70s/vintage rock” (Doom Metal Heaven).

Original soundtrack score to the award-winning 2017 motion picture. Known for his songwriting with The Grays and Jellyfish, Jon Brion has also produced records for Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright, Robyn Hitchcock, Sky Ferreira and is a well-known collaborator with Evan Dando and Elliot Smith. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Dana Buoy – Ice Glitter Gold CD/LP+MP3 (Everloving)

A polished and atmospheric examination of missed connections and altered states, where the thrum of 21st century psychedelia meets European dance floor chic, Dana Buoy’s Ice Glitter Gold is equal parts lusty and lysergic. Helmed by Dana Janssen (Akron/Family) with long-time collaborator Justin Miller, Dana Buoy deliver a sweaty, late-night pop record with analogue 4 on the floor heartbeats throbbing at the center.

A collection of gospel songs from the late country/pop great. Features “Amazing Grace”, “The Old Rugged Cross”, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” and more.

Carey – Hundred Acres CD/LP+MP3 (Jagjaguwar)

At its heart, the third full-length from Wisconsin singer/songwriter S. Carey finds him grounded and confident, writing the strongest songs of his career. Using more traditional song structures instead of the Steve Reich-ian repetitions of his past work, a new balance is struck that creates something unique. The result is a collection of poetic yet clear-eyed songs that both stand brightly on their own and tightly weave together to create a powerful album. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Caleb Caudle – Crushed Coins CD/LP (Cornelius Music)

With Crushed Coins, Caleb Caudle returns with his unique and genuine method of songwriting, which Paste Magazine has compared to Jason Isbell. The album features a handful of skilled musicians and artists, including Joshua Hedley, Erin Rae, noted electric guitarist Megan McCormick, pedal steel player Brett Resnick, and bassist Kevin Black.

Chappo – Do It CD/LP+MP3 (Votiv)

Out of tragedy, Brooklyn based Chappo deliver their third studio album, Do It. On the heels of their second album, after a period of touring, the band – singer Alex Chappo, guitarist David Feddock, and keyboardist Chris Olson – returned home. That record, Future Former Self, was a dense concept album, and between the labor of its creation and the stress of an extensive tour, the band had been thoroughly exhausted. Their holiday was short-lived, however. A series of tumultuous events occurred in succession: the band parted ways with their drummer, Alex’s best friend committed suicide, a record was begun and abandoned, and Dave and his wife lost their young son, Winter. Do It is a lithe, spangled tumble of a record. Rather than creating a memorial, the band decided to strike nearer to the wild heart of things by paring their sound down to its most primal and joyful components.

Alice Cooper – The Sound Of A CDEP/10” (earMUSIC)

“The Sound of A” has a special meaning; it is in fact the first song that Alice Cooper wrote entirely on his own back in 1967. The song was forgotten until Dennis Dunaway, the bass player of the original Alice Cooper band, rediscovered it and played it to Alice, after which the two of them updated the song and then recorded it for 2017’s Paranormal album. With its psychedelic sound, swirling guitars and the mysterious Hammond organ, it is one of the most hypnotic songs on Paranormal. In addition to the title track, this EP includes four previously unreleased live songs recorded in Columbus, OH, on May 6, 2016. [Limited colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Cultus Profano – Sacramentum Obscurus CD (Debemur Morti)

Cultus Profano is a black metal duo hailing from Los Angeles. They conjure a pure form of blasphemy that evokes hatred and darkness.

Darlingside – Extralife CD/LP (More Doug)

Darlingside stretch the boundaries of traditional folk, chamber pop, baroque, progressive and indie rock by melding the various styles together and creating something not easily categorized and very much their own.Their pensive and poetic lyrics are sung utilizing divine harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys, Fleet Foxes and Simon & Garfunkel.

Dedekind Cut – Tahoe CD/2xLP (Kranky)

Northern California producer Fred Welton Warmsley III’s solo work as Dedekind Cut (pronounced “dead-da-ken cut”) has evolved from fractured industrial design into increasingly subdued and sublime ambient meditations across two years of dedicated activity. His second full-length collection, Tahoe – so named after the mountain lake town he now calls home – swells with widescreen grandeur, evoking vistas both inner and outer. There are echoes of his earlier, more tempestuous mode in tracks like “MMXIX” and “Spiral” but overall the album skews panoramic and pensive, muted synthetic mists contoured with choral melody, field recordings, and radiant drone. His compositional instincts feel alternately classical, contemporary, and conflicted, befitting an artist whose discography spans divergent labels.

Dessa – Chime CD/LP (Doomtree)

Margret Wander, better known by her stage name Dessa, is an American rapper, singer, spoken word artist, writer, and record executive. She is a member of the indie hip hop collective Doomtree. “Writing the lyrics for Chime involved heading into territory I don’t usually go as a songwriter: there’s some humor, a rap song about my experiences traveling alone as a woman, one about my grandmother’s death, and one unapologetic pop song – because I love pop too, dammit. The album includes beats by some of my favorite Doomtree producers (Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger, Cecil Otter), but also involved a new collaborator, Andy Thompson. He added new sounds and melodies to the record and pushed me to use my voice differently for stronger, more expressive vocal takes. Two of the beats on the album were submitted by people I’ve never met, who responded to my call for mid-tempo production on Facebook, Anagram Norton and Chance Lewis. Chime is also the first album on which I produced a couple of tracks myself – a fact of which I am senselessly, insufferably proud. There are deliberate, writerly moments on this record, because I’m a writer and a neurotic. I’m also a daughter and a science nerd and a single woman in her 30s and an American freaked out by the stories on the news. And, in this particular moment, I am a person feeling excited, proud, and nervous to be a little more fully herself.” – Dessa

Destroyer 666 – Call Of The Wild CD/LP (Season Of Mist)

International metal firebrands Destroyer 666 advance with the new mini-LP. The ferocious street metal impacts with the subtlety of a clenched fist across each of its four tracks. Even more direct than 2016’s Wildfire, Call Of The Wild is yet another facet to the ever-expanding arsenal of these celebrated metal iconoclasts.

Al Di Meola – Opus CD/LP (earMUSIC)

Al Di Meola is a pioneer of blending world music, rock and jazz. His ongoing fascination for complex rhythmic syncopation, combined with provocative lyrical melodies and sophisticated harmony, has been the heart of his music throughout a celebrated career that has spanned over four decades. With a curriculum vitae rich of exciting musical moments and incredible works, he is still challenging himself pushing his music towards new boundaries but with a more relaxed way to see things. Over the last few years he has in fact literally started all over, reinventing himself in both, his private life and music. “With Opus I wanted to further my compositional skills as I think that the evolution of this part of my persona has labelled me more composer/guitarist than guitarist/composer,” says Di Meola. “At the same time this record also marks a new era in my life. For the first time, I have written music being happy. I’m in a wonderful relationship with my wife, I have a baby girl and a beautiful family that inspires me every day. I believe it shows in the music.” [180gm vinyl pressing also available.]

The Doors – Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 CD+Blu-ray/CD+DVD (Eagle Vision)

August 1970: With Jim’s ongoing Miami obscenity trial casting a shadow over the band, The Doors flew to the IOW. They took the stage at 2am and showed fans they still had the magic. “We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form,” said Ray Manzarek. “He sang for all he was worth but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled.” Less than a year later, The Doors were no more. Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 is the last Doors concert ever filmed.

Joey Dosik – Game Winner CDEP/12”+MP3 (Secretly Canadian)

The marriage of sports and music usually recalls corny arena jams or get-hyped anthems. Game Winner is anything but that. At once cool and confident, it mirrors the NBA’s trademark swagger, as well as Joey’s journey back to music—and his belief that he could get there. It’s no accident that during this time, Joey immersed himself in gospel to lift his spirits, particularly Detroit’s Clark Sisters. The title track may be about a big win on the court, but its pleading melody and percussive piano point to something larger.

For the first time ever, Eïs have produced in their own studio, carefully tapping into new sonic elements: doom parts, almost rock-like passages and ambient sounds, which were deeper embedded into their signature melodic black metal.

Eneferens – In The Hours Beneath CD (Bindrune)

Eneferens will be typecast as atmospheric black metal protagonists, but theirs is a more complex, nuanced style that embraces not only the epic, Cascadian fare that Wolves In The Throne Room pioneered, but also at times the mournful, heart on the sleeve doom that Patrick Walker explored via other projects Warning and 40 Watt Sun.

Fever Ray – Plunge CD/LP+MP3 (Mute)

Karin Dreijer (one half of the electronic duo The Knife along with her brother, Olof Dreijer) makes her long awaited return as Fever Ray with the project’s second album Plunge, the first release since 2009’s celebrated Fever Ray. Featuring lead single “To The Moon and Back,” Plunge was largely recorded in Dreijer’s Stockholm studio in collaboration with the producers Paula Temple, Deena Abdelwahed, NÍDIA, Tami T, Peder Mannerfelt and Johannes Berglund. “Fever Ray’s Plunge…is Karin Dreijer at her most vulnerable and powerful, a righteous reclamation of kink that extends a knowing invitation,” writes NPR. “Across 11 tracks of coquettish synth-pop cut with neon, Dreijer is not just frank about her sexual desires, but how she desires them – with consent, with trust, with pain, with love.” [Deluxe gatefold double-LP edition with blood red gel outer sleeve and two posters due March 23.]

GarciaLive Volume Ten documents the Jerry Garcia Band’s May 20, 1990 performance at the Hilo Civic Auditorium in Hawaii. In this relaxed setting, it’s no wonder that the music from this show shines so brightly both in Garcia’s strong vocals and guitar playing but also the joyful setlist spanning some of Jerry’s favorite corners of music Dylan, Motown, reggae, and rock ‘n’ roll.

Released last year in a limited vinyl edition – now available on CD. Fruit Juice is the first new recorded material from Glasgow-based electronic avant pop duo since the intense aftermath of 2014’s Apéro, their debut album which garnered a place in the Scottish Album Of The Year final 10. Shorter in scale but sharpened and expanded, Fruit Juice takes the tender experimental beginnings and unabashed pop moments of their first LP into undiscovered countries glowing with possibility.

Justin Hinds topped the charts in Jamaica with his 1964 single “Carry Go Bring Home” and eventually recorded a staggering 70 singles for the Treasure Island Record label. A ska and rocksteady pioneer, after a short stint with Mango Records in the ’70s, he returned to the studio to record material for Nighthawk Records. Travel With Love, originally released in 1984, was followed almost a decade later by Know Jah Better in 1992. This time, Hinds moved from his roots and embraced the evolving dancehall scene, while never abandoning the benchmarks of his classic sound. These CD reissues, mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Michael Graves, are packaged with new art and liner notes from Nighthawk Records’ Leroy Jodie Pierson, who also co-produced the reissue with Grammy-winner, Cheryl Pawelski.

Joshua Hyslop – Echos CD/LP (Nettwerk)

A warm collection of stories reflecting the Vancouver based singer/songwriters personal experiences as well as those around him.

Imarhan – Temet CD/LP (City Slang)

When Imarhan released their self-titled debut album in 2016, they stepped into a genre already flooded with talent and exposure, but still managed to rise to the top and be heralded as the ‘new wave of Tuareg music’. Whereas their debut was anchored in the meditative desert blues tradition, Temet eclipses such notions, finding bounce and drive by stirring their sound with funk, fuzz, disco and rock.

In many ways Insecure Men – the band led by the fiercely talented songwriter and musician Saul Adamczewski and his schoolmate and stabilizing influence, Ben Romans-Hopcraft – are the polar opposite of Saul’s other band, The Fat White Family. Whereas sleaze-mired, country-influenced, drug-crazed garage punks The Fat Whites are a “celebration of everything that is wrong in life,” Insecure Men, who blend together exotica, easy listening, lounge and timeless pop music, are, by comparison at least, the last word in wholesomeness.

Scott Johnson – Mind Out Of Matter CD (Tzadik)

Another masterwork by one of America’s true mavericks—Scott Johnson, a composer/performer who works slowly and meticulously crafts every detail. A new work from him is truly a cause for celebration and this sprawling, extended 74-minute eight movement suite marks the culmination of his pioneering work transcribing speech into musical melodies. Here recordings of philosopher Daniel C. Dennett are set in lush and colorful musical landscapes that brilliantly mix pop sensibilities with classical rigor. A labor of love and five years in the making, this is one of Scott’s greatest creations, successfully synthesizing opposing musical inheritances into an exciting new language.

Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu – TraditionaLimits CD (MKH Productions)

Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu is a contemporary Hawaiian chanter who was born and raised in ʻAiea, Oʻahu. He is best known for his contributions to the soundtrack of the 2002 Disney animated film, Lilo & Stitch. TraditionaLimits is his first new CD in fifteen years.

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Polygondwanaland CD/LP+MP3 (ATO)

Australian 7-piece King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have made a name for themselves with a steady stream of new material since their inception in 2010, blending everything from surf rock, prog, soul and folk to metal, garage rock, and even elements of spoken word and cinematic presentation. Adding to what has already been an insanely prolific 2017, the band offer up their fourth album of the year and twelfth album overall. Following Flying Microtonal Banana, Murder of the Universe and Sketches of Brunswick East, Polygondwanaland finds the band journeying into the depths of the mind and the limits of the universe once again. “The stirring, quiet percussion of ‘Inner Cell’ tiptoes into ‘Loyalty’ for a slow buildup, before it splashes into the punctuated vocals of ‘Horology,’ a sea of guitar tapping and rich, warm woodwinds,” writes Pitchfork. [Deluxe colored vinyl pressing also available.]

Legend Of The Seagullmen – Legend Of The Seagullmen CD (Dine Alone)

Legend Of The Seagullmen is a genre-destroying supergroup featuring Danny Carey of Tool, Brent Hinds of Mastodon, director Jimmy Hayward (Jonah Hex, Horton Hears A Who) on guitar, and Pete Griffin of Zappa Plays Zappa and Dethklok on bass, and a few other rippers. Joining forces to make cinematic psychedelic rock, The Seagullmen sing of shipwrecks and giant mutant squid, crafting conceptual rock ‘n’ roll hymns of epic proportions on their self-titled full-length debut. Engineered by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) and mastered by Gavin Lurssen (Queens Of The Stone Age), Legend Of The Seagullmen sees the band unveil massive sonically pulverizing slabs that decimate expectations since Rolling Stone excitedly leaked two demos back in 2015. [Vinyl edition due March 2.]

The Unknowable is a completely improvised, spontaneous group-composed body of music created by legendary saxophone and flute player Dave Liebman together with celebrated percussionists Adam Rudolph and Tatsuya Nakatani.

Lionlimb – Tape Recorder CD/LP (Bayonet)

Tape Recorder is the second album from Nashville’s Lionlimb, the project of Stewart Bronaugh and Joshua Jaeger. The record is a collection of six tracks written by Bronaugh after their second European tour in the fall of 2016, primarily on piano in Columbia University practice rooms. After having collaborated with a friend who played cello, the Bronaugh and Jaeger began expanding into scoring music for violins and bass clarinet. Having been the first time he scored music by hand, Bronaugh looked to ‘70s minimalist composers for research. After recording the entire album live, the resulting six tracks of Tape Recorder are reflective, soulful, and based around the themes of love, loss, heartache, friends, and family.

Lo Moon – Lo Moon CD/LP (Sony)

The highly anticipated self-titled debut album from the Los Angeles, California based indie rock band. Lo Moon is a dark, luscious collection of songs full of crescendo rock and sparkling electronics. The songs bridge a gap between soft experimental rock and atmospheric electronic pop. The record is a cool, dark, meditative exploration of bittersweet sadness and cathartic joy.

Low Anthem – The Salt Doll Went To Measure The Depths Of The Sea CD/LP+MP3 (Joyful Noise)

The Low Anthem present twelve short songs that are fragile, nuanced, and honest. In contrast to the existential freakout that is Eyeland (2016), or the folk-faithful incubator albums, The Salt Doll Went To Measure The Depth Of The Sea feels delicately purposeful. Acoustic arrangements are peppered with subtle and fragmented electronic elements. Rhythms are physically composed on the center loops of vinyl records. These elements weave songs that sound at once organic and highly-conceptual.

There’s no doubt about it, Magma has left a legacy of music that defies any of the standard and convenient classifications of rock, operating instead in a realm of their own creation.

Janiva Magness – Love Is An Army CD (Blue Elan)

One of the preeminent voices in contemporary American roots music releases her fourteenth album. Love Is An Army is a brilliantly crafted bridge between the past and present, blending the echoes of classic soul and country music with timeless themes of love and the very contemporary sound of protest, and reverberates with the timeless character of the Memphis rhythm & blues patented by the Stax and Hi Records studios.

Kal Marks – Universal Care LP (Exploding In Sound)

The trio of Carl Shane (guitar, vocals), Michael Geacone (bass) and Alex Audette (drums), have created a record full of sonic risks and rewards, thick textures, skin crawling sludge, and hazy pop. Through unexpected twists and turns, the band capture a range of honest emotions and struggles without boundaries. Crushing distortion, atmospheric drifts, shifting rhythms, and warm acoustics all swirl together in unison. There’s a freedom in their agitation. A welcoming catharsis.

Freddie McGregor ‎– Bobby Bobylon [Reissue/1979] CD (Studio One)

Freddie McGregor is a firm fan favorite and one of reggae’s most consistent recording and touring artists. McGregor’s 1979 Studio One debut, Bobby Bobylon, is considered one of the key ingredients for a great reggae record collection. It was helmed by Studio One founder Clement Dodd, who produced, tutored, and nurtured an astounding number of top reggae stars – past and present – including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Marcia Griffiths, the Skatalites, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Toots & the Maytals, Horace Andy, Sugar Minott, and many more. Now, more than 35 years later, Bobby Bobylon is back in print with the original ten tracks and eight additional singles. [Vinyl edition due March 9.]

Megaherz – Komet CD (Napalm)

New album from the German rockers.

MGT – Gemini Nyte CD (Cleopatra)

New goth rock project from former Peter Murphy and The Mission guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite and The Awakening vocalist Ashton Nyte.

Holly Miranda grew up between Detroit and Nashville, two music towns that would influence her own journey in a very profound way. She began playing piano at the age of 6, taught herself guitar at 14 and moved to New York at 16 to start her professional career. For nearly 20 years Holly has been performing, writing and producing with some of the best in the business. She has performed with the likes of Karen O, Lou Reed, The xx and Lesley Gore. She released two records with her band The Jealous Girlfriends and has co-written and produced a mass of other projects. Her new album, Mutual Horse, features an eclectic mix of players which makes for some compelling grooves. The record finds Holly bridging the gap between 2010’s experimental synth laden release The Magicians Private Library and 2015’s stripped back soulful self-titled record.

Miranda takes an honest and intimate approach throughout its 14-tracks, while simultaneously maintaining her sense of humor and sonic explorations.

Deep, diverse, and unheralded, the Philadelphia ambient electronic music scene of the 1980s is explored with The Nightcrawlers’ The Biophonic Boombox Recordings, an expansive archival collection documenting the hard-knuckled kosmische synthesizer trio’s home recordings, self-released and distributed over 35 cassettes between 1980 and 1991.Featuring the farthest reaching spacescapes of those cassette releases – improvised straight into the mic of a JVC Biphonic Boombox – none of these performances have been released beyond the original format, and essentially went out of print when Nightcrawler Peter D. Gulch got tired of dubbing them to blank tapes to mail-order through his Synkronos label and sell at live shows. Restored and recalibrated from the original cassettes.

Molly Nilsson – The Travels CD/LP (Night School)

The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist Molly Nilsson. Starting out by hand-dubbing CDRs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy pathos.On this fifth long-player, Nilsson’s perspective is challenged and manipulated by changes in environment and psychological space: like any other traveler the protagonist brings their own set of values and emotional states to new places, coloring them with a wash of subjectivity. Based loosely on Marco Polo’s “Travels” and reading like a map of the protagonist’s geographical and inner journey, this album reveals new places and new emotions that are never the same to the beholder.

Adam Nussbaum – The Lead Belly Project CD (Sunnyside)

The discovery of the music of Leadbelly was transformative for young Adam Nussbaum. The only child of artistic parents in Norwalk, Connecticut, Nussbaum was exposed to many recordings, from classical and folk to jazz and blues. It was the image of Huddie Ledbetter on the original Folkways 10” record covers that fascinated the five year old. The celebrated blues and folk musician’s music seared itself into his ears, as it does in young listeners, informing the future drummer’s musical approach for years to come, most explicitly on his new recording, The Leadbelly Project.

Olden Yolk – Olden Yolk CD/LP (Trouble In Mind)

Olden Yolk is a New York-based group whose penchant for dystopian folk, abstract poeticism, and motorik rhythms have enveloped them in a sound uniquely of-the-moment yet simultaneously time-tested.

Abe Partridge – Cotton Fields And Blood For Days CD (Skate Mountain)

Abe Partridge is one of the most respected songwriters on the burgeoning Mobile, Alabama music scene. Ranging from the earthy to the surreal, from the spiritual light to the depths of depression, the eight original songs come together with a gripping intensity. Partridge draws listeners in with a combination of southern gothic storytelling and a dark humor reminiscent of the late Townes Van Zandt delivered in a gravelly tone that conjures up images of Tom Waits in his barstool warming days.

Grant-Lee Phillips – Windershins CD/LP (Yep Roc)

“I’m drawing from the urgency of the moment,” says acclaimed Nashville-based singer-songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips, of Widdershins, his ninth solo album.Inspired by “the things that eat away in the late hours,” Phillips invests the insight, nuance and wit in a riveting dissection of today’s fraught social landscape. Recorded over four days at Sound Emporium in Nashville, the 12-track set was produced by Phillips (guitar, vocals, keyboards) and cut largely live in the studio as a trio with Jerry Roe (drums) and Lex Price (bass). Mixed by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, The Decemberists) and engineered by Mike Stankiewicz, the album delivers its poetic truths in Phillips’ peerless melodic sensibilities, relayed via vocal performances that balance intensity and vulnerability.

Dylan Pratt – Limbo CD (Washington Square/Razor & Tie)

With a dusty timbre, hypnotic voice, and confessional lyrics, Arizona-born singer and songwriter Dylan Pratt resembles a traditional troubadour in the purest sense of the word, bouncing from place to place and collating his travels and experiences in song.

Bobby Previte – Rhapsody CD/2xLP (RareNoise)

In 2015, Previte received the Greenfield Prize in music at the Hermitage Artist Retreat to create a new work. Terminals Part II: In Transit (or Rhapsody) is the result. Rhapsody is the second in a three-part series exploring the experience of travel. Terminals Part I: Departures, is a set of five concertos written for the visionary percussion group SO Percussion and five improvisers. This piece premiered at Merkin Hall in New York City in 2011 and the recording was released on Cantaloupe Music in 2014. In Rhapsody, the improvisers from Departures, each of whom had been selected based on their ability to separately carry fifteen-minute concertos, were thrown together into one ensemble. Beginning from the point of view of a passenger sitting comfortably in an airplane, Rhapsody twists and turns, until the traveler finally arrives at a strange shore – on a raft.

Provocator – Satan Chaos Blood And Terror CD (Moribund)

This torrent of savagery is truly diabolical black metal.

Pyrolatrous – Teneral CD/2xLP (Gilead Media)

Featuring members of Hull and Krallice, Teneral is a densely crafted album, both thematically and musically. A great deal of Pyrolatrous’ style is influenced by classic black and death metal, utilizing both sweeping, blasting tremolo passages and powerfully technical riff/percussion interplay.

Hannah Read – Way Out I’ll Wander CD/LP (Hudson)

Way Out I’ll Wander features a cast of musicians including Jefferson Hamer (Anais Mitchell), Jeff Picker and Sarah Jarosz. The recordings capture Read’s formidable songwriting in intimate arrangements which reflect her background in traditional Scottish and English folk while also calling to mind the ice-cool delivery of Mary Lorson or Nina Nastasia.

Remo Drive – Greatest Hits CD (Epitaph)

Conceived in suburban Minnesota, Remo Drive delivers a high-energy punky brand of indie rock. For fans of Title Fight, Joyce Manor, The Promise Ring and Weezer. [Vinyl edition due March 16.]

Caroline Rose – Loner CD/LP (New West)

An obsession with money, a lover sleeping with someone else, a friend accidentally getting pregnant, misogyny, loneliness, death…This is just some of the lighthearted subject matter that make up Loner – the whimsical, darkly comedic second album from songwriter/producer Caroline Rose. Armed with an arsenal of new instruments and equipment, an ever-growing sense of “ahhh f**k it,” two years of exploration, and a wicked sense of humor, Rose delivers a set of serious songs wrapped in a sprightly, angsty pop burrito. Because, as Rose puts it, “Sometimes sad songs just need a cocktail.” Loner captures the cheeky satire, comical musings, and often jarring mood swings – sometimes goofy, sometimes emotional – that make up much of Rose’s personality. “I call it Schizodrift,” she says. “I want to make music that sounds as manic as I feel.” Filled with catchy synth hooks, Doors-esque Farfisa, surfy guitar, punky attitude, and depth of thought, Loner captures the energy of bands like Le Tigre and The Cramps, the style of Blondie and Devo, the artsy folk of Kate Bush and pop hooks of icons like Justin Timberlake. “I’d say this album was as much inspired by Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as it was late ‘70s punk,” Rose adds.

Sacred Leather – Ultimate Force CD/LP (Cruz Del Sur)

With influences evident to any heavy metal purist, Sacred Leather’s music seems to emerge directly from the early ’80s, mixing elegant and nostalgic hard rock/proto metal with the most belligerent side of NWOBHM.

Screaming Females – All At Once CD/2xLP+MP3 (Don Giovanni)

Throughout their lifetime as a band, Screaming Females have moved against the prevailing winds. Over six albums and more than a decade of touring, they have remained deeply individual and steadfastly DIY. Each new album has been a reaction to the last — a chance for the band to challenge itself and its audience by switching course and subverting expectations. All At Once is Screaming Females seventh record — a double LP that captures the band at its most ambitious and expansive.

Matthew Shipp – Sonic Fiction CD (ESP Disk’ Ltd.)

Matthew Shipp – Zero 2xCD (ESP Disk’ Ltd.)

After a duo album and two trio albums by Shipp and Walerian, all for ESP-Disk’, quartet album Sonic Fiction continues their strategy of working with different musicians each time out. Bisio and Dickey are long-time collaborators with Shipp, but the addition of Walerian’s Zen style changes the dynamics of their interactions. Walerian and Dickey, masters of restraint, were a match waiting to be made, and their instant rapport is one of the attractions of this album. His new piano solo release, Zero, is not—by Shipp’s own description—a concept album, though many of the song titles would indicate otherwise. “Like the rest of his solo work, it is completely enthralling” (All About Jazz). Includes a bonus lecture CD.

After thirteen years as one of the centerpieces of Sweden’s experimental rock scene The Skull Defekts return with their final, self-titled album.The band is known for merging the coarse vitality of punk with the ritualism of folk dances to create music that is addictive, wondrously discordant, and rooted in a belief in the overwhelming power of pure sound.

Strange Names – Data CD/LP (French Kiss)

2015 debut Use Your Time Wisely established Minneapolis to NYC transplants Strange Names as creators and performers of buoyant and masterful pop songs, songs that were relatable in the ubiquity of their subject matter but also in their fine-spun reverence to precursory (and magnificently danceable) new wave greats like B-52s, Talking Heads and The Fixx. On follow-up Data, these definitive sonic tendencies remain in their purest form, but the soul of the record emerges distinctively amidst a newfound sense of exploration, in both sounds and motif, bringing to light Strange Names’ most daring and realized music to date.Where their previous record emanated a more sleek and modular sound, Data ushers in a more rambunctious, rock-centered audio-aesthetic. Leading with bouncy opener “UFO,” Strange Names establish a driving framework that carries throughout the entire album. From the surging syncopation of “People to Go” to the infectious space-funk of “Keep Walking Away” to the melodic verve of “Into Me,” they have completely and brilliantly shifted their sonic references to a territory where allusions to Womack & Womack/Island Records heyday take rightful precedence over the silvery synth structures of derivative ‘80s new wave. On “People to Go,” the band even enlists the vocals of Jorge Socarras, founder and frontman of early ‘80s NYC art rock band Indoor Life as well as a close collaborator of electronic pioneer Patrick Cowley.

Templeton Peck – Watching The World Come Undone CD (Drakkar)

Punk legends like Bad Religion, The Offspring or Rise Against can’t be wrong: UK’s Templeton Pek is among the most exciting political melodic hardcore bands of today. In a classic punk tradition, they channel their dissatisfaction with social ills in their music, to make a difference to the increasing injustice in the world – racism, sexism and xenophobia were and still are ubiquitous.

The first album in five years from the rapper with features from G-Eazy, E-40, Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih, French Montana, T.I., 2 Chainz, Snoop Dogg, Mistah F.A.B., Ray J, and Jazze Pha.

Totally Mild – Her CD/LP (Chapter Music)

Second album by the Melbourne lush pop quartet.Following on from their acclaimed 2015 debut Down Time, Her is a shining jewel of an album. Elizabeth Mitchell’s voice soars and swoops in shiver-inducing ways, while her songs address desires and dreams with affecting frankness. “Her is a record of failure and victory, new desire, stale romance, queer domesticity and what comes when the party is over,” says Mitchell. First single “Today Tonight” is kinetic, dynamic guitar pop at its finest, while “Lucky Stars” showcases Mitchell’s love for piano balladry, and “From One Another” is an eulogy for a toxic relationship given the most graceful pop setting.

Turnstile – Time & Space CD/LP+MP3 (Roadrunner)

Recorded with go-to producer Will Yip at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA, Time & Space marks fast rising hardcore act Turnstile’s Roadrunner Records debut and follows their 2015 breakthrough, Nonstop Feeling. Pitchfork declared, “…the broad appeal of ‘Real Thing’ makes it clear Turnstile are not looking backwards” and Brendan Yates tells NPR additional single, “‘Generator’ is about near-death experiences; out-of-body happenings that really open you up to see your true self without the noise of the world.” The fully realized 13-track collection features additional vocals from Sheer Mag’s Tina Halladay on “Moon,” and Tanikka Charraé on “Bomb”. Plus, Diplo offers added production to “Right To Be.”

Tyndall – Sonnenlicht [Reissue/1980] CD/LP (Bureau B)

Electronic sonic inventors Jürgen Krehan and Rudolf Langer founded Tyndall in 1980, naming their duo after a light scattering phenomenon in physics. Armed with an impressive array of instruments, devices, and home-made synthesizers, Tyndall created free and easy electronic music in the style of the Berlin School (Berliner Schule), much to the liking of the legendary Sky Records who released their debut album.

Valhall – Grimoire CD/LP (Artoffact)

New album from the dark synthwave group. “This album really is a grimoire, filled with haunting luscious chants which lead you to the weird, mythical and dark. It will take you places if you dare to lose control and embrace it.”

Vance Joy – Nation Of Two CD (Atlantic)

Nation Of Two is the keenly awaited second album from Melbourne-turned global folk-pop superstar, Vance Joy (James Gabriel Wanderson Keogh). Following on from his ARIA #1 debut Dream Your Life Away, Nation Of Two carries the listener on an exquisite 13 track journey across new terrain. Tales of love and longing, including recent double platinum-selling hit “Lay It On Me” and new single “We’re Going Home” burst with emotion, anchored by Vance Joy’s delicate story-telling, masterful instrumentation and compelling vocals.“Nation Of Two describes a perfectly self-contained couple,” Joy adds in regards to the new full-length. “Their world beginning and ending at the bed they share, the car they ride in, or any other place where they’re together…the idea that their love for each other gives them their bearings; a point of reference that makes sense of life.” “Right now, the biggest band in hardcore might be Turnstile” (Stereogum).

Various Artists – Concert For George [Reissue/2003] 2xCD/2xCD+2xDVD/2xCD+2xBlu-ray/4xLP (Craft Recordings)

On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and longtime friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honor. Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George’s songs, and music he loved, performed by a lineup that included Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison and many more. Digitally remastered and expanded. [Also available: 4-LP 180gm audiophile vinyl edition packaged in a lift-top box with 12” x 12” booklet. Features a special mandala-design etched on side-8. This is the first time that all songs from the performance have been available on vinyl.]

Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Acoustic India CD (World Music Network)

From the five-hundred-year old musical history of the Sufi Fakirs of Bengal to the virtuoso musicianship of Calcutta’s guitar master Debashish Bhattacharya and Carnatic violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, this Rough Guide explores India’s ancient musical traditions and acoustic roots.

Vojd – The Outer Ocean CD/LP (High Roller)

With Goin’ Under and Shadowline, Swedish band Black Trip had released two classic metal albums to great critical acclaim. When drummer Jonas Wikstrand was replaced by Anders Bentell, the band, now consisting of Joseph Tholl (vocals and bass), Peter Stjärnvind (guitar) and Linus Björklund (guitar), decided to make a fresh start by changing their name to Vojd. There is quite a big difference in sound, style and execution between Vojd and Black Trip. Vojd are much more classic rock than Black Trip ever were, and much less traditional heavy metal.

Wake – Misery Rites CD/LP (Translation Loss)

Few metal heads would say the name Wake isn’t synonymous with “relentless.” Over the last decade, consistent ethics, back-to-back tours, and a veritable stream of releases have turned this humble grinding metal outfit into a Canadian institution. Misery Rites, Wake’s sophomore album, delivers nine thunderously crushing songs and takes a harsh, introspective, and shattering look into the deep, interdimensional corners of intimate struggle.

Seth Walker – Live At Mauch Chunk Opera House CD/LP (The Royal Potato Family)

Live set from the revered roots music troubadour, recorded in May 2017 at the Mauch Chunk Opera House in Jim Thorpe, PA.

We Sell The Dead – Heaven Doesn’t Want You And Hell Is Full CD/LP (earMUSIC)

“What if Jack the Ripper had played in a band? A heavy metal band?” This is the question that influenced We Sell the Dead. Revolving around Niclas Engelin (In Flames, Engel), Drömriket’s Jonas Slättung, Gas Lipstick (former HIM) and the voice of Apollo Papathanasio (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind), We Sell the Dead go beyond the strains of conventional storytelling and create a multi-media experience of premium quality heavy metal music embedded in visually stimulating and atmospheric visuals created by Dan Lind. The band’s debut album, Heaven Doesn’t Want You And Hell Is Full, is heavy and melodic with sounds transport the listener into a Victorian inspired world that is defined by pompous manors and daunting luxury standing in deep contrast to the harshness and cruelty of the gutter. It is a world that reeks of hysteria, but above all a sense of mysticism and dark romanticism. We Sell the Dead’s music rises above this, not merely pointing out this injustice, but expanding the narrative into the extreme, playing with themes of ghosts, death or religion.

Yellow Eyes – Immersion Trench Reverie CD/LP (Relic)

The most complex, pummeling Yellow Eyes album thus far, framed with the sounds of Siberia in the winter: flat bells, wild dogs, and the close-harmony singing of a town’s women’s choir. And so, the hallucinatory melancholy of Yellow Eyes is cast in strange new light. Genre-defining US black metal.

Yiddish Glory – The Lost Songs Of World War II CD (Six Degrees)

As World War II raged through Europe, a group of Soviet Yiddish scholars embarked on an ambitious goal to preserve Jewish culture of the 1940s. These historians believed that it was their duty to record stories, poems and songs by Jews who lived through this. They hoped to publish these songs, but the project was never completed. Now for the first time the public will hear the voices of the Soviet Jews who were long thought to be forever silenced by Hitler and Stalin.

Young Jesus mixes the emotional intensity of bands like Slint, Pile, and Built To Spill with the quiet contemplation of Yo La Tengo, Mogwai, and Laughing Stock-era Talk Talk. They give themselves to moments of aggression and volume, balanced alongside near-silence.

DVDs + Blu-ray:

OneRepublic – Live In South Africa DVD/Blu-ray (Eagle Vision)

Live concert from the Native World Tour paired with an intimate and all-access look at the inspirations behind OneRepublic’s greatest hits.

Commonly regarded as one of the first-ever concept records of the soul genre, this dark masterpiece combines the lush orchestral arrangements of Isaac Hayes collaborator Dale Warren with Blaxploitation-style funk grooves, resulting in a sound that would rocket it to cult-classic status among DJs and producers who have sampled it for tracks by Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, Digable Planets, Dr. Dre, and many others.

Pat Ament – Songs LP+CD (Grapefruit)

In 1971, at the age of 25, Pat Ament self-released his debut album, Songs By Pat Ament, in a very limited run for friends and local shops. The album is sparse and moody, conjuring a space not unlike the one that Songs Of Leonard Cohen occupies, featuring Ament on Wurlitzer with a jazz drummer and a guitarist alternating between acoustic and electric. It’s dark and at times forlorn, with meditations on yearning and loss and love. It’s ideal long-night-of-the-soul music. The lyricism evokes Dylan, Cohen, Tim Hardin and Bill Fay. This vinyl reissue of a rare and virtually unknown singer-songwriter masterpiece includes a bonus career retrospective CD, Time Moved On, featuring additional songs hand-picked by Ament.

Robbie Basho – Live In Forli, Italy 1982 LP (ESP Disk’ Ltd.)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. Robbie Basho (1940-86), who died young after a stroke, never got his due in the culture at large, but steel-string guitar enthusiasts have known for decades that he was one of the greats of “American Primitivism”. Technically adept and compositionally imaginative, fusing the music of many cultures into a mesmerizing solo style, he has been an inspiration for many; his music has generated a surge of interest in recent years. This 1982 concert was part of a four-show Italian tour.

Bristles/Rovsvett – Rovsvett/Bristles 7” (Just For Fun)

New recordings from these two old school Swedish hardcore bands. The Bristles weigh in with four new tracks while Rovsvett offers up two fresh corkers.

Collective Soul – Live LP (Suretone)

Released last December on CD – now available on vinyl. First proper live album of the group’s 25-year career.

Loren Connors – Pretty As Ever LP (Recital)

The fourth LP in Recital’s Loren Connors editions/reissue series. Pretty As Ever is a beautiful collection of Loren’s guitar ballads, dedicated to his wife Suzanne. Originally released in 2006 on Table Of The Elements as a part of the double-CD Sails.

Culture Club – Live At Wembley: World Tour 2016 2xLP (Cleopatra)

The iconic multi-platinum selling ’80s pop legends returned home for the holidays in 2016 and performed at Wembley after a hugely successful 60 city world tour featuring all four original members along with an explosive horn section and backup soul singers. Limited edition pink and purple colored vinyl pressing.

Yves De Mey – Bleak Comfort 2xLP (Latency)

The Belgian sound artist returns with his third solo full-length. Geared towards serving up an intense musical experience, Bleak Comfort deconstructs regular club music to highlight some of its key elements in a transformative way. An album about absence, malfunction and disorientation, Bleak Comfort is equally packed with floor-functional material and left-of-center electronics. By turn sizzling and spherical, convulsive and atmospheric, Yves De Mey ushers his listener in a hypnotic kaleidoscope of sounds, providing a fascinating picture of his ever dynamic grammar at variable scales and tempos.

Esquivel And His Orchestra – To Love Again [Reissue/1957] LP (Wax Time)

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing of this 1957 release from the Mexican band leader, pianist, and composer.Esquivel is recognized today as one of the foremost exponents of a sophisticated style of largely instrumental music that combines elements of lounge music and jazz with Latin flavors. Esquivel is sometimes called The King of Space Age Pop and The Busby Berkeley of Cocktail Music.

This 1963 LP marked the last album Bill Evans made for his first label, Riverside, and was the second of two live recordings which Evans did for the label (the other resulted in the iconic Village Vanguard LPs). But above all, these two nights at Shelly Manne’s club in Hollywood marked the only recording by Evans’ excellent but short-term third trio, featuring Chuck Israels on bass and L.A. drummer Larry Bunker. The trio performs a selection of standards with a melodic and sensitive touch.

Samantha Fish – Belle Of The West LP (Ruf)

Released last November on CD — now available on vinyl. New release from the blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Fish recorded Belle Of The West in the relaxed, rural creative atmosphere of the legendary Zebra Ranch Studios in the North Hills of Mississippi with producer Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars fame), with whom she worked previously on her 2015 album Wild Heart. The studio team included some of the region’s most iconoclastic musicians, including Dickinson, solo artist and Jack White associate Lillie Mae, much-traveled juke-joint blues artist Lightnin’ Malcolm, Squirrel Nut Zippers founder Jimbo Mathus, upright bassist and beloved solo artist Amy LaVere, Tikyra Jackson, Trina Raimey and Shardé Thomas, granddaughter of the legendary Southern bluesman Otha Turner.

Frigs – Basic Behavior LP (Arts & Crafts)

Frigs is a Toronto-based band that pairs the raw, emotional grunge of PJ Harvey with the immersive, psychedelic post-punk of early Sonic Youth.

This deluxe vinyl box set celebrates Ginsberg’s most famous and controversial work, Howl, which stands as one of the most important pieces of modern American literature. Ginsberg’s passionate recording of his poems comes pressed on translucent red vinyl – a reproduction the original 1959 LP release. Also included in the box set is a replica of the 1956 Howl And Other Poems book, originally released as one of City Lights Pocket Poets series, as well as a photo of Ginsberg from the ’50s and a reproduction of the original City Lights reading invite from 1956.

Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul [Reissue/1969] LP (Craft Recordings)

Isaac Hayes – Black Moses [Reissue/1971] 2xLP (Craft Recordings)

Isaac Hayes – Shaft [Reissue/1971] 2xLP (Craft Recordings)

180gm vinyl reissues of three soul classics featuring audio remastered from the original analog tapes by leading engineer Dave Cooley.

Jimi Hendrix – Loverman b/w Foxey Lady 7” (Sony Legacy)

Includes a previously unreleased live version of “Foxey Lady” on the B-side.

Hurry – Every Little Thought LP (Lame-O)

Influenced by the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Guided By Voices, The Bats, and Brian Wilson, Hurry remained a solo project up until the release of debut full-length Everything/Nothing (2014) where mainman Matt Scottoline secured bandmates.

The Jacksons – The Jacksons [Reissue/1976] LP (Epic)

The Jacksons – Goin’ Places [Reissue/1976] LP (Epic)

Vinyl reissues of the first two albums by The Jacksons on Epic. Initially called The Jackson 5, the group (Michael, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Randy) changed their name when they switched labels from Motown to Epic.

Trinidad James – Fatha FiGGA LP (Gold Gang)

Trinidad James burst onto the scene in 2012 with his infectious track, “All Gold Everything.” He released projects since 2012, but this last project, Father FiGGA is a resurgence of his brand and featured Young Thug, Brother Joe, and Madalen Duke.

The Jazz Butcher – Bath Of Bacon [Reissue/1983] LP+MP3 (Fire)

Vinyl reissue of The Jazz Butcher’s debut album. In the early ‘80s, Dave Barker was checking master vinyl copies of classical recordings for glitches – they don’t make jobs like that anymore. In his spare time he discovered innovative souls struggling to make music and welcomed them to his Glass Records label. The roll call included Teenage Fanclub, Spacemen 3, The Pastels and The Jazz Butcher. The ‘Butcher’ delivered a gaggle of albums and many 45s for Glass from 1983 to 1986. 1983 debut In Bath Of Bacon was an experiment in sound, conjoining that Ronco platter to Todd Rundgren, a guitar from Wes Montgomery’s cupboard and mentions of imaginary monsters set to some funky chops. It’s pop meets bluesy scat with plenty of deadpan irony – a theme that will recur.

Last Of The Easy Riders – Unto Earth LP (Agitated)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. From high in the Rocky Mountains, Last Of The Easy Riders descend with a new psych-infused country-rock long-player. While the Easy Riders’ first outing, a self-titled EP from 2016, exhibited the band’s kaleidoscope of trippy guitar sounds and production techniques, Unto Earth unveils the band’s earnest songwriting chops and knack for genuine Bakersfield-Sound country. The band certainly didn’t abandon its lysergic-leanings, however: note the mind-warping title track, which also serves as the lead single.

The Model Minority LP is the first full-length release by Athens-based linguist-rapper Mariah Parker, whose scientific fixation with hip-hop is obvious in the intricate rhymes she weaves over boom bap beats.

Mike Love – Unleash The Love 2xLP (BMG Rights Management)

Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. 13 brand new songs and 12 re-recordings of Beach Boys classics. The new tracks range from rock, gospel, R&B and pop and celebrate Love’s connection to the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his journey to find personal love and peace.

The French producer’s latest album is result of a voyage to Greenland. Isolated for five weeks in the small Inuit village of Tiniteqilaaq, Romain Delahaye used his “survival electrokit” to find new sounds in the fjords, the icefields, and the hostile, yet dazzling landscapes surrounding him. Entirely recorded and mixed in this remote place, the tracks of -22.7°C range from contemplative ambient atmospheres to more upbeat techno blizzards and accurately translate this epic self-reflective adventure across a land of contrast, its abyssal silences, its immaculate glaciers and its blinding whiteness.

The Monochrome Set – Maisieworld LP+CD (Tapete)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. At the end of the ’70s, The Monochrome Set were part of the first wave of post punk bands. Right from the beginning, the band earned a solid reputation as purveyors of fine pop, gaining praise from ’80s contemporaries such as Morrissey and Edwyn Collins. Importantly, in later years this praise has continued with artists such as Franz Ferdinand, The Divine Comedy, and Graham Coxon, all citing the band as a key influence on their own work. The Monochrome Set sound has often been described as “timeless”, and that alone explains why, over the years, the band has continued gaining admirers. Their new album, Maisieworld, “is distilled from the pungent flowers of artistic mischief and represents the acme of sonic consummation.”

Mouse On Mars – Idiology [Reissue/2001] LP+MP3 (Thrill Jockey)

Mouse On Mars return to Thrill Jockey in 2018 with a brand new studio album coming in April and a series of their classic albums reissued on vinyl. The Idiology reissue is pressed on white color vinyl and presented in a die cut jacket.

Produced by XTC’s Andy Partridge (who also plays most of the drums), Martin Newell’s first solo album, The Greatest Living Englishman, was hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as a rock classic upon release. Originally released in 1993, it has all the hooks and melodies of Cleaners from Venus and Brotherhood of Lizards and then some. With Partridge’s immaculate production, it’s something rather more again.

Odeon – Galaxies LP (Edizioni Mondo)

Take the mellow melodies of Talk Talk and the celestial guitar riffs of Cocteau Twins bound together with some heavy Goblin-inspired basslines and you’ll be close to picturing Odeon’s signature sound. Drawing from ’70s Italian B-movie soundtracks, psychedelic rock, and early ’80s new wave, and combining analog synths, dreamy guitars, melancholy vocoder, and drum machine-driven percussion, Odeon put together a debut album that sounds fresh and classic at the same time.

Panopticon – Roads To The North [Reissue/2014] 2xLP (Bindrune)

The highly in-demand 2014 album from Panopticon has been repressed on royal blue and yellow splatter vinyl.

At age 78, Joe McPhee shows no sign of slowing down. Plan B is the master improviser’s new trio, with James Keepnews on guitar and laptop and David Berger on drums. A soundtrack to a science fiction movie existing only in their heads, From Outer Space finds McPhee and company envisioning the first encounter between alien life and a delegation of earthlings (while giving a nod to jazz’s original man from another planet, Sun Ra, with a side-long suite dedicated to him). It’s quite unlike anything else in McPhee’s vast discography.

Porcupine Tree’s 2007 opus Fear Of A Blank Planet is an ambitious 50 minute piece of music comprised of 10 tracks that flow together to create a cohesive whole. The British art-rockers created the concept album based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel Lunar Park, with lyrics that addressed how the adolescent protagonist battled his bipolar and attention-deficit disorders with a regimen of prescription drugs and Internet over stimulation. The band incorporates sprawling vocal melodies, atmospheric guitars and drums that tumble through chaotic passages to echo the main character’s manicdepressive states. Fear Of A Blank Planet also features guest appearances from King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and ex-Japan keyboardist Richard Barbieri.

Postcards – I’ll Be Here In Morning LP (Ruptured)

Postcards is a dream pop/indie rock band formed in Beirut, Lebanon, defined by hushed, introspective vocals floating over expansive sonic spaces that shift between harsh noise and dreamy soundscapes.

Prayers – Baptism Of Thieves LP (The End)

Released last November on CD – now available on vinyl. With gritty lyrics exposing the harsh realities of gang and street life coupled with love and loss over throbbing beats and swirling synthesizers, electronic duo Prayers bring an authentic urban feel to goth music, a mix of ge3937nres that crosses cultural and societal boundaries and breaks stereotypes. Prayers creates a modern dystopian landscape based in both brutal reality and transcendental occultism. Featuring Leafar Seyer on vocals and synth and Dave Parley on beats and synth, Prayers straddles interlocking worlds.Fierce yet mystic, brutal yet beautiful, Prayers is the sound of the Southland, a stirring of the winds of changes that begin on the West Coast and moves across the globe. Combining street reality, traditional magic, and gothic dance beats, Prayers crashes through barriers to shift consciousness.

Jason Sharp – Stand Above The Streams LP (Constellation)

Jason Sharp has emerged as one of Canada’s most fascinating new music composers in recent years. From his roots as a saxophonist in Montréal’s fertile jazz and improv scene, Sharp developed as a soloist with drone-based durational music, circular breathing, and an increasing exploration of the body and technology. Stand Above The Streams is utterly gripping, with melodic and micro-tonal elements flowing amidst waves of atmospheric pink and brown noise, low-end modulation and calibrated distortion. Through four parts each running in the 10-minute range, the album conjures an evocative, abstracted survey of organic nature, perhaps from on high, like a satellite scanning and processing data across diverse and slowly changing landscapes.

Chris Shiflett – West Coast Town LP (Rusted Wave)

Released April 2017 by SideOneDummy on CD – vinyl pressing now available. Alt-country songwriter. Rock ‘n’ roll guitarist. Pop-punk pioneer. Podcaster. Chris Shiflett has played many roles during his 20+ year career, from fronting his own band to serving as the Foo Fighters’ lead guitarist to hosting the popular bi-weekly podcast, Walking The Floor. Join Shiflett as he starts a new chapter with, an autobiographical solo album inspired by the unique twang of California’s country tradition (Buck Owens/Merle Haggard) and influenced by the Stray Cats, Social Distortion, Dwight Yoakam and Uncle Tupelo, all of whom challenged the rules of the genres they occupied. Is everything country, blue-collar roots-rock, and SoCal punk.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri received the top audience prize at the Toronto Film Festival following wins at the Venice Festival, and now seems poised for Oscar glory. This dark comedy starring Frances McDormand is scored by Carter Burwell, (Carol, Coen Brothers catalog), and the soundtrack also features tracks from Joan Baez, Monsters of Folk, Townes Van Zandt and The Four Tops.

David Toop + Paul Burwell – Suttle Sculpture LP (Sub Rosa)

Never before released recordings from Logos Foundation live sessions with David Toop and Paul Burwell in Brussels, on May 7, 1977.

The third and final 10″ in a series devoted to space-age sounds from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Features: Rose DuBats, Dave Diddle Day, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Les Baxter, Russ Garcia, Gale Storm, Butch Paulson, Gene Vincent, Frosty & The Diamonds, Sun Ra Arkestra, Space-Men, and Marty. Includes a signed and numbered 24×24 cm screenprint of the front cover drawn by well-known artist Marcel Bontempi.

Various Artists – The Rough Guide To Holy Blues: Reborn and Remastered CD (World Music Network)

Recently released on CD – now available on vinyl. From the extraordinary recordings of the true guitar evangelists Blind Willie Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis to classic spiritual renditions by legendary bluesman Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Skip James, this handpicked selection highlights the mutual influence between Gospel and blues.